Mum shares the truth behind her “perfect family photo”

Another mama has jumped on the #letsbereal bandwagon, sharing an honest behind-the-scenes account of real life, beyond the seemingly perfect Instagram photos.

Kyree Meagher, an Australian mum-of-one, posted the below photo with an extensive caption detailing what ‘you don’t see’ on social media. Kyree is a lifestyle mummy blogger with a large Instagram following, who regularly posts a curated collection of exquisitely styled, Scandi-perfect photos.

A "perfect" Instagram worthy family pic 😍What you don't see is the giant spew that's seeping into mama's jumper,…

A “perfect” Instagram-worthy family pic

Kyree shared a lovely photo of herself, her 6-month-old daughter Alaska, and her husband, but the caption below told the full story.

“What you don’t see is the giant spew that’s seeping into mama’s jumper, staining her like sour yogurt,” Kyree wrote. “What you don’t see is that Mama & Papa had an argument about something small & petty an hour before. They refused to talk to each other in the car. But then made up cos they know they both were wrong, even though she knows she’s always right.”

While admitting to stains on clothing and poop explosions is a regular occurrence for Kyree and other #realtalk abiding mummy bloggers, this post dug even deeper into the personal insecurities of Kyree AND her husband.

“What you don’t see is that mama is super self-conscious & never thinks she’s good enough. Even though she’s working super hard at learning self-love & learning to accept her flaws…”

“What you don’t see is giant Papa hates how tall he is and wishes he didn’t have super giant feet,” Meagher shares. “If only toe reducing surgery was a thing then he could totes buy regular shoes off the shelf. ”

Why Kyree’s mention of her husband was so important

Women have done great work in the last few years stripping back the expectations they have it all together, and keep smiling all the time. Motherhood is HARD, and bloggers and Instagram influencers like Kyree and many others have been speaking out more and more, and shattering the misconception that their lives are perfect and worry-free. But men often struggle to find a voice in this chorus of females, and they undoubtedly have doubts, fears and insecurities too.

“What you can’t see is Papa hates working away, but also loves how much time he gets to spend with his girls on his time off each month. He’s also been awake over 36 hours coming off night shift, that’s the smile of a good looking zombie.”

The part of the picture you can’t see

This post is yet another important reminder to exercise those powers of scepticism we learned in media studies at school. The image presented isn’t always the full picture. And while many mums share openly about their lives on Instagram with people who are invested in following their journey, they deserve privacy as much as the next person.

A quick self-reminder that Instagram is simply a highlight reel does the world of good for confidence and self-esteem, and kicks comparison’s butt.

While Kyree’s photos may look amazingly effortless, there’s a lot of work that goes into creating each one, which means food goes cold, moments are interrupted by attempts to get ‘the perfect shot’ and the #instagramwife gets cranky at the #instagramhusband.

“What you can’t see is Mama getting frustrated at Papa cos he can’t seem to get the photo right, even though he knows if he gets it right the first time she won’t keep nagging at him,” Kyree admits.

A post shared by Kyree Harvey (@misskyreeloves) on May 31, 2017 at 2:29am PDT

There is no such thing as a perfect family, only the perception of a perfect photo

“Don’t judge a “perfect” photo from what you CAN see. Don’t compare to others, just take each image for exactly what it is; a brief snap of a single moment in a long day, possibly styled, showing you something in a creative way. Social media shows you what we CHOOSE to show you,” Kyree cautions her readers.

Yep, you can’t put it any clearer than that!

It can be a struggle to stop comparison when we look at posts on social media. Do you need Kyree’s reminder this week?